Amazon Opens AppStore with free Angry Birds Rio

As has been rumored for some time, this first day of Spring is the day chosen to launch the Amazon Appstore for Android. You are going to want to bookmark the Appstore for Android Deals page, because they are promising to give us one free app every day! If you have a browser that lets you designate multiple tabs for your Home page, be sure to add it (and hey, you could add Books on the Knob, too!); if not, then set a bookmark that you'll remember to open each day (I have an entire group that I open daily, called (of course) "Daily Pages"; with Firefox, I can open the entire group each day, which I do while waiting for the coffee to get ready). Another one to bookmark is the Free Apps for Android page, where there are currently 1,439 free Apps. One great feature (ok, two) is that you can manage your apps and devices, just like you do with the Kindle (and you can re-download any app that you have deleted on your device) and, since it's Amazon, you don't have to worry about processing the payment (they'll even come off your gift card balance, just like Kindle books, if you want to avoid having lots of tiny charges on your credit card to reconcile or if your bank is one of those that tends to mark such activity as fraudulent and freezes your card). once you've made an app purchase in the Amazon Appstore, you can run it on any of your Android devices (without having to repurchase). They are also going to let you testdrive apps on your desktop, before you purchase, but that feature seems to be turned off for the moment (I've seen a few press stories about how it works, but the TestDrive button isn't showing up for me, in FireFox or IE).

Today's free app is Angry Birds Rio ($0.99 FREE!), by Rovio Mobile

Book Description
Just when you thought they couldn't get any angrier, the Angry Birds flock gains new cause for vengeance. Swept away by smugglers to Rio di Janeiro, their captors soon find out that these caged birds don't sing. It's time to bring back their unique brand of weaponry--the finger-powered slingshot--and launch the newest adventure in the world's most popular physics-based casual game.

In the original Angry Birds, this peace-loving flock was hoodwinked by greedy green pigs with a hunger for poached eggs. After the pigs stole their precious eggs, this flock was friendly no more: unleashing an arsenal of angry bird artillery, the avian army smashed through the green pigs and their hideouts. The world pulled the trigger with glee as these ornery birds made bacon out of swine.

Free Book (noDRM) - Rampant

Rampant ($9.99 Kindle), by Saskia Walker, is free from Mills & Boon on their Everyone's Reading page. This, at last, is the mystery book that has been "coming soon" on that page for months and you heard it here first (because I wrote them and asked if it would ever be making an appearance). It's available in DRM-free EPUB and Mobi (although I couldn't get this format to download, so I'll just toss the EPUB into Calibre and email it to my Kindle from there).

Book Description
The moment she arrives at her rented vacation cottage in Scotland, Zoe Daniels feels it--an arousal so powerful she's compelled to surrender to the unusually forceful carnal desires...with nearly anyone who crosses her path. Crawford Logan, the boat builder with the wayward grin. The devilish restaurateur Cain Davot, who seems to know more about Zoe than he lets on. Even her sexy neighbor Grayson Murdoch, whose eyes delve into her soul as he explores every inch of her body.

Yet there's something unsettling about the way the locals watch her, something eerie about these overwhelming encounters. Zoe knows she's not quite in control and wonders if there's any truth to the legend of Annabel McGraw, a powerful, promiscuous eighteenth-century witch who once owned the cottage, and whose spirit is rumored to affect anyone who stays there. Zoe doesn't believe in anything occult, but now strange visions are turning frightening...and only one man's touch can bring her back to earth.

Click HERE to get the free book (and the other eleven on the page, if you haven't been there before).

Support Japanese Disaster Relief at O'Reilly

If you buy technical books or videos (computer programming, business, using Microsoft/Apple products, etc), you may want to check out O'Reilly's Deal of the Day. Today only, you can use coupon code DDJPN during checkout to get 50% off ebooks and videos and all revenues after author royalties will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society. So far, they have raised $40,000 and hope to reach $200,000.

If you just want to donate to disaster relief, you can do so on the Amazon website and the entire amount will go to the American Red Cross (donations over $250 will get receipts for tax purposes). But, if you need a few technical books, today's deal at O'Reilly lets you get them at half price and a portion will go directly to Japan (the American Red Cross fund is for future disasters, with the amount they direct to Japan coming out of past contributions).

Game Day at Amazon Gold Box Deals

The title says it all! It looks like today is Video Game Day on the Gold Box Deals page. Not only is the main Gold Box deal a video game, it looks like the lightning deals will all be games as well, starting with De Blob 2 for the Wii, PS3, XBox and DS (remember, with Lightning Deals, you have to buy from the Gold Box Deals page, the price is only good for a limited number of the item and you have a limited time to complete your purchase after placing it in your cart).

Free Book (EPUB/nook) - Miss Match

Update: Rather than come down in price to match the free price seen elsewhere, this one went back up to full price in the Kindle store, while dropping to free at Sony.

Miss Match ($2.78 $7.99 Kindle), by Erynn Mangum, is free from B&N and Christianbook, courtesy of Christian publisher NavPress.

Book Description
Lauren Holbrook has found her life's calling: matchmaking for the romantically challenged. And with the eclectic cast of characters in her world, there's tons of potential to play "connect the friends." Inspired by the recent success of matching her sister and new husband, Lauren sets out to introduce Nick, her carefree singles' pastor, to Ruby, her neurotic coworker who plans every second of every day. What could possibly go wrong? Just about everything. When Lauren's foolproof plan begins to unravel, she learns that a simple introduction between friends can bring about complicated results. And as she reconsiders her new role as Cupid (as well as her vow to stay single forever), will Lauren finally decide that God's plan is always good enough?

Click HERE for the free download at B&N.
Click HERE for the free download at Christianbook.
Click HERE for the free download at Sony.